Embark on a Native Rock Music journey with Robby Romero. Discover the art of cultural resilience in a vibrant fusion of traditional and contemporary sounds from the heart of Indian Country, as he shares his musical heritage on the Red Road.
“The guitar, vocals and songs of Robby Romero boasts a powerful vocal style that treat sensitive matters of spirituality with firm certainty.”
“The phones light up every time stations play Red Thunder… It has got to help the Movement.”
Robby is back in the studio for a new album, RHYTHMS OF RESILIENCE, after an eight-year hiatus. The album is a tribute to the enduring spirit of Indigenous Peoples. The first single is a poignant true-crime ballad titled, “WHERE THUNDER FINDS HER.”
Released on May 5th, in observance of Missing and Murdered Indigenous Peoples Awareness Day, the song serves as a “Call to Action,” a powerful reminder of the urgent need to raise awareness and support to end a systematic epidemic of violence devastating Indigenous communities worldwide.
During his eight-to-the-bar interlude, Robby remained creatively engaged, writing his first screenplay, several docuseries scripts, and a few op-eds. On International Mother Earth Day, he appeared live for the 50th anniversary of Earth Day alongside Patricia Arquette, Jane Goodall, and Al Gore, among others.
He performed at grassroots gatherings and special events, including a Sacred Music concert at McCormick Place in Chicago honoring Rev. Jesse Jackson, a Playing for Change fundraiser with Pharrell Williams at the Faena Forum in Miami Beach, a music documentary at the Fonda Theatre in Hollywood with T Bone Burnett, Maria Muldaur and Eric Clapton, a special appearance at the American Indian Community Center in Minneapolis and Free Leonard Peltier Political Prisoner rallies in Florida, South Dakota, Minnesota, and Washington D.C., with Mitch Walking Elk.
“Haunted by visions of sisters gone missing, a true-crime ballad emerged. I played it during a ceremonial gathering in Očhéthi Šakówin territory. It brought me back into the studio. Were Thunder Finds Her is Savanna LaFontaine-Greywind’s traditional name. Her horrific murdered and child abduction in 2017 led to Savanna’s Act, mandating federal law enforcement cooperation to combat the Missing and Murdered Indigenous Peoples crisis. This systemic epidemic demands accountability to bring those responsible to justice. Let us honor our stolen sister by saying her name, ensuring that their lives are not in vain.”
Indigenous Peoples, particularly women, in the so-called Americas, Canada, Australia, and New Zealand, face disproportionately high rates of violence, abduction, and murder. Thousands of women go missing annually, often unreported or unsolved due to legal barriers, discrimination, and lack of media attention.
Aboriginal Alert | Alaska Native Women’s Resource Center | Assembly of First Nations | Ka Ni Kanichihk Missing Persons and Persons at Risk Toolkit | Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Relatives Indian Country | National Indigenous Women’s Resource Center | Not Our Native Daughters | Sitkans Against Family Violence | StrongHearts Native Helpline | We R Native
“Native women are being murdered more than 10 times the U.S. national average. Help us raise awareness and support to end this heartbreaking nightmare.”
Robby Romero rose to prominence with the global broadcast of his first music picture campaign, “IS IT TOO LATE,” and his designation as a United Nations Ambassador of Youth for the Environment. Through his grassroots group, Native Children’s Survival, an Indigenous Peoples Organization in special consultative status with the United Nations Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC), he has adeptly woven music, film, and activism into a unified artistic expression — effectively bridging the gap between Indigenous Peoples, human rights, and social and environmental justice.
“With appreciation for the support you have given our project, we the children offer this symbol of our gratitude. It is our wish that children and adults everywhere could join together like this to help heal and restore the earth.”
Robby’s Music Pictures, PSA’s, and World Alert film specials have premiered at prestigious international events, including the United Nations, Global Forum of Spiritual and Parliamentary Leaders, Parliament of the World's Religions, Sundance Film Festival, and Festival de Cannes Short Film Corner. His work has been broadcast globally on networks like VH1, Sundance TV, and SABC Africa. At the peak of the MTV era, he successfully introduced Native Rock Music to the music television generation. Robby has received numerous accolades and cultural recognitions, including Best Music Video from the American Indian Film Festival, a CableAce award as part of MTV’s “Free Your Mind” Campaign, and Certificates of Appreciation from the United Nations, National Congress of American Indians, and Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada. He was presented a Gold Record from Sony BMG and the counter-culture Wavy Gravy Humanitarian Award.
“Romero rose to great prominence with his designation as a United Nations Ambassador of Youth for the Environment in 1990, the heavy rotation of his singles on VH1 and MTV in the 1990s, and the worldwide airing of his social- and environmental-themed films including America’s Last Frontier, Hidden Medicine, and Makoce Wakan.”
From his critically acclaimed Indian Country Tours and concerts, featuring guest artists such as Charlie Hill, Joanne Shenandoah, and Robert Mirabal, to the H.O.R.D.E. festivals with Blues Traveler, Rickie Lee Jones, and Taj Mahal, and Peace Concerts with Carlos Santana, Bonnie Raitt, and Cat Stevens, to name a few, his musical campaigns and tours have raised awareness and garnered global support for an Indigenous movement centuries in the making. With his new single and upcoming EP, Robby continues to share his music with audiences worldwide.
“Robby Romero and his band Red Thunder are changing the world — and the world of music.”
“In the spirit of Woody Guthrie’s Tom Joad, Robby Romero is there wherever Native Americans are fighting for their rights. He is an articulate artist and advocate for the causes and concerns behind a cultural resistance that is older than this country.”
